Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has said his side missed Gianluca Scamacca in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, admitting Ademola Lookman could not offer what the Italian striker brings to the team.
Atalanta’s hopes of winning a first major trophy in 13 years were dashed when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Juventus in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday evening. The Black and Blues conceded a fourth-minute goal against the Old Lady and could not rally their way back despite their best efforts.
Dusan Vlahonic timed his run to beat Atalanta’s offside trap after being played through on goal by Andrea Cambiaso and the Serbian took his chance by slotting the ball home. While Juventus did not offer much threat afterwards, Max Allegri’s side were resolute in defence to protect their lead.
Atalanta, on the other hand, were dominant in possession but did very little with the ball in the attacking third and ended the game with no shots on target. The team’s lack of potency in attack did not enthuse Gasperini, who said they missed Scamacca’s presence.
Ademola Lookman doesn’t have Scamacca’s characteristics
Gasperini had to reshuffle his pack after Scamacca was suspended for the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, switching from his preferred 3-4-3 formation to a mobile 3-4-1-2 with Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere playing up top.
The duo, however, struggled against Juventus’ resilient defence and barely got any opportunities in front of goal. De Ketelaere was eventually replaced at halftime by El Bilal Toure, as Gasperini sought to have a more physical presence in the Juventus box. Lookman played the full 90 minutes but could neither influence the game, with Atalanta labouring to a 1-0 defeat.
The Black and Blues were, however, unlucky not to have restored parity late in the game after Lookman’s goal-bound effort struck the post. Speaking in the aftermath of the game, Gasperini suggested his team missed the services of Scamacca, who was suspended for the game due to accumulated yellow cards. The Atalanta boss also said both Lookman and De Ketelaere lack the characteristics of Scamacca, who has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season and provided six assists.
“We are disappointed, but not so let down by this match. We played our game, it is a narrow defeat and naturally we are said, but we have important objectives still to be achieved in Serie A and the Europa League,” Gasperini told SportMediaset, as quoted by Football Italia, while urging his players to turn their attention towards the Europa League final.
“We’ll get Scamacca back, but losing De Roon with Kolasinac already out is a problem. I am above all sad for the players, because without doubt we lose a lot without certain individuals.”
“We moved the ball around too slowly, as we rather easily got to the edge of the box and then seemed to grind to a halt. Being without Scamacca for this particular game was a big loss, because he has this physicality, strength and the timing of the movement too. We alternated Lookman, De Ketelaere and Toure, but they do not have his characteristics.”
Could Lookman de dropped for the Europa League final?
Despite not having a great game against Juventus, Ademola Lookman has been in impressive form for Atalanta this season and is the club’s second top-scorer after Scamacca. The Nigeria international has been involved in 20 goals this season (12 goals and eight assists) but has been in and out of the team in recent weeks.
Since mid-April, Lookman has played 10 matches for Atalanta but only five of them have been starts. It’s obvious the 26-year-old is highly rated by Gasperini but the Italian manager’s knack for tinkering with his team selection hasn’t always favoured the winger.
With the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen slated for May 22, Gasperini’s latest comments should have Lookman a bit worried. The 66-year-old believes his team is at its best when Scamacca is leading the line and wouldn’t mind sacrificing any of his wingers to play to the strength of the big Italian.
Should Gasperini opt to play with two strikers in the Europa League final, then either Lookman or De Ketelaere would likely be dropped from the starting line-up. Alternatively, the Atalanta manager could play all the aforementioned forwards as part of a front three but with Leverkusen currently in a rich vein of form and unbeaten in 50 matches this season, it’s very likely that Gasperini would deploy a pragmatic approach against the German champions.
